Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has described the ongoing constitutional review by the National Assembly as a charade.
He said “the unanimous position of the Nigerian people is the total overhaul of the present constitution”, adding, “Nothing else will do.”
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According to him, a “genuine” remedy would be to revisit the report of the 2014 Constitutional Conference which he noted “has been generally applauded for the sweeping breadth of its equity and democratic balance in rectifying the prejudicial and unworkable structures that are on the ground now.”
In an open letter to the Senate President, George also faulted the process of the ongoing constitution review, especially the public hearing held last week, noting that many people “were deliberately denied the openness of democratic contributions.”
He said, “The hearing was stage-managed, anchored in prejudice, framed in puppeteering identification. Alternative views were cast aside, flung into the pits. This is not right. This is not just.
“It is obvious that the Committee is not interested in true and thorough representation of the will of the Nigerian people. It appears to be working with a script towards a predetermined end. The contributions were narrow, overtly partisan, one-sided, lacking in plural contributory logic.
“This is not acceptable to the Nigerian people. The structure of the present constitution is so biased, so flawed and so mangled with inequities that a mere review will not be sufficient to correct all the glaring wrongs afflicting the Nigerian state.”
The PDP leader said as a believer in the unity of the Nigerian state, he stated that the nation can “emerge stronger and better only when all the component units that make up our nation have a sense of belongingness and general accommodation regardless of tribe or sectarian belief, when everyone is treated equally without ethnic bias, when merit is the sole determinant of public positions.”
“This can only be achieved with a people’s constitution. This is indeed what we should work for rather than the charade and the present jamboree that is chaired by Senator Ovie Omo – Agege.
“Enough of this false and misleading engagement. Let’s renew our nation through the pursuit of the truth and the resolve on the fairness doctrine. Their-in resides the national salvation,” he added.
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